Skate with the Best

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The N64's first skateboarding game will be the almighty Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.

By IGN Staff

One of the most powerful shots recently fired by the PSX camp in the ongoing PSX-N64 war was the superb Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. It is flat out one of the most enjoyable videogaming experiences of 1999 and the cause of much jealousy among bitter N64 owners. IGN64 recently reported that Activision is readying a N64 version of the game, but the company was unwilling to confirm the project one way or the other. Now, though, an official confirmation from Activision has come and we've got first development details.

"Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for the PlayStation game console has wowed both critics and gamers alike with its aerial acrobatics and go-anywhere environments," said Mitch Lasky, executive vice president, Activision Studios. "We want to give both Nintendo 64 and Game Boy fans the same heart-stopping adrenaline rush as they pull all the flip tricks, grinds, slides, inverts and wallrides they can pack into their runs."

Neversoft developed Tony Hawk for the Playstation and should be commended for the great skateboarding game engine they've put together. For the N64 version, Activision is turning to Edge of Reality, the same team behind the quiet hit, Monster Truck Madness. While switching developers for a console to console translation could be cause for alarm, it's highly unlikely that Activision would risk tarnishing such a popular franchise. Expect EOR to do their best to faithfully recreate the PSX experience on the N64.

The N64 version will include all of the same game modes as the PSX version and should also offer players the chance to use the same skateboarding superstars. Do not expect the N64 version to have the same depth or variety of music as the PSX version. Bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Primus may or may not appeal to Nintendo's core audience but the fact is ten full length tunes would be an amazing amount of data to jam into an N64 cart.

IGN64 will have more on Pro Skater for the N64 as soon as possible because we haven't been this excited about a PSX to N64 conversion since A Bug's Life! In the meantime, feel free to check out our highly speculative preview and IGNPSX's full review of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.